Three completely unexpected wins at Spurs, Man City and at home to Liverpool has liftedthe mood on the Black & White planet and given us all a spring in our steps. Whatever misgivings anyone has about the manager, owner, players and whatever anything else, the fact is a week like this doesn’t come along very often and my advice is to savour it while it’s here because as we know only too well, enjoyment and happiness on the good ship Newcastle United is often fleeting.

I have to say some of the comments from the national press about apologies due to Pardew and the manager turning the corner and all the rest of it makes you wonder at the intelligence of some of the people who write about football in this country for a living. In the wake of the win at Man City, we had Patrick Barclay of some free paper in London giving it large about how we Mags should be apologising to Pardew about the treatment he‘s been getting because he has proven us all wrong. Honestly man, you would think we had won a piece of silverware rather than simply reached the quarter finals of the League Cup the way Barclay & Co. have gone on. I’ll take my hat off to Alan Pardew when he has won the League Cup and has us safely finished in the top ten of the Premier League. That’s not because I’m hard to please it’s because like most of you reading this, I’d like to think I’m a bit more balanced than changing my opinions on the back of a handful of wins or losses.

Most of us didn’t reach the point of calling for Pardew’s head as a knee-jerk reaction to a short-run of poor results. We reached the limit with Pardew on the back of a calendar year of lamentable results, piss poor performances, rank decisions, unbecoming conduct and risible patter which has left us wondering what the hell is going on at our club. Since we finished fifth and Pardew was voted LMA manager of the year, we had one season where we narrowly avoided being relegated and this year, results have pointed very much in the direction of the Championship. That’s the truth of it.

I would suggest very few of our fans have anything personal against the manager and everything is about what goes on during matches. The stats against Pardew in the PL and the Cup competitions are absolutely damning and it’s difficult to see him surviving at any other club. However, if Pardew does turn it around and we end up having a great season, I doubt anyone’s logic will be so distorted but to be anything other than delighted. Having a great season in the PL and the Cups is a long way off and can’t be called either way. The last four results however have taken a massive weight off Pardew’s shoulders and give him and his team some breathing space. It is a platform for recovery rather than a recovery in itself.

Personally, I see a theme of the last week a definite shift in attitude. Spurs, Man City and Liverpool were all expected to beat us and whilst we caught all three sides out of form, our game plan has been all about an underdog mentality which has saw us grafting our bollocks off, playing large parts of games without possession and spending lots of those matches, pressing, closing down, tracking back, doubling up, defending for long periods, being disciplined, resolute and doing all of the dirty jobs required to get a result against more exulted opposition. We’ve caught teams on the break with pace and we’ve seen some nice goals as well from our lads. Fair play. The team and the manager deserve praise. Pardew got the game plan right and the team committed to the manager’s instructions and we have got our rewards.

Like many of you I groaned when I heard the League Cup draw – a long trip to Spurs on a school-night – but on reflection I think this game might suit Pardew’s mentality than a home tie against opposition where we might be expected to beat. I don’t think that draw is the nightmare we think it is. I hope I don’t live to regret my fragile confidence.

Where the challenge will come for Pardew’s team will be up against those sides we are expected to put away, particularly at home. When we play against any side outside the top eight at SJP in particular, we have every right to think we can beat them. Those sides will be tighter and be less expansive and we will be expected to have more possession and offer more of a goal-threat. We need to beat those sides (and some of them away) if we are going to meet the club’s alleged target of finishing in the top ten.

We face something of a decent West Brom next weekend but I expect we will go there with a similar game plan to the one we took to White Hart Lane (second half) and The Etihad. Hopefully, we’ll get our rewards.

Since half time at White Hart Lane however it would be churlish to do anything but lavish praise on the manager and players and I’m delighted to do so. I’m particularly pleased to point to the performances of Dummett, S. Taylor, Sammy Ameobi and Gabriel Obertan as they are all players who have had questions marks against their names over a long period but they have stepped up to the plate in the last fortnight. I have been waxing at the performances put in by Mehdi Abeid, who has been dogged in that midfield and at the risk of being premature I’m going to wonder out loud just how easy Tiote and Anita are going to find their route back into the first team. Aarons, Cabella and Ameobi are similarly going to make it very difficult for a lacklustre Goufrann to get back. All of a sudden, we might just have something resembling competition for places. I may be getting carried away.

The acid test is how they deliver consistently. It’s also about how they bounce back when the inevitable defeat comes along. The manager and his team have it all to do to demonstrate consistency and resilience.

I was delighted on Wednesday to see Ryan Taylor back in a B&W shirt. This lad has shown remarkable professionalism and dedication to battle back after 26 months out of the game and I don’t think anyone would begrudge Ryan his moment at the end of the game at City when he took the ovation from an ecstatic away end. He put in a great performance and his courage will have inspired those around him.

Whether the involvement of Dummett, Taylor, Colback, Armstrong and Ameobi as bona-fide Geordies in a Newcastle United side had any positive impact upon us at Man City, no-one can say with any authority really but it does feel right having a few of our own in the team and its good for our identity as a Tyneside club. I’ll be absolutely honest though but when my party of Mags holed up in a ropey Manchester pub before the game saw the team selection for City, we weren’t exactly brimming with local pride but more fearing the pasting coming our way. Thank God we were wrong and we got a great win.

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Michael I must disagree with you about one point and that is where you stated us supporters don’t have anything personal against the manager and everything is about what goes on during matches. The way we play and results do of course have a bearing on how we perceive a manager but this guys gobshittery takes my opinion of him to a different level. McGarry, Souness,Dinnis, Allardyce, Charlton, Dalglish and many more were crap managers and provided rubbish football but didn’t talk shite the way this guy does. It still boils my piss when I think about the Southampton quote where he explained that Southampton, the city, are more middle class and therfore more intelligent than the working class toon and that’s why they’ve got better youngsters coming through their academy. He realised what he had said and finidhed off by claiming he wasn’t saying Geordies are thick.
I sincerely hope we win something soon and I don’t care who the manager is. I will give credit where credit is due but that doesn’t mean I have to like the guy.
I think we will get an insight into whether he is changing our style of play when Tiote is fit. At the moment the midfield is working well together. Sissoko, Colback and Abeid in particular have been outstanding in their work rate and I think all bring more to the table than Cheik. Tiote is one of Pardews little soldiers and it will be interesting to see if he walks back into the team as soon as he is fit.
Apart from Abeid who has been outstanding in the last two games I like Perez. His control and movement are excellent. Just hope can progress under the present coaching staff.
One other point which nobody has mentioned. Janmaat’s tackle on Balotelli whilst brilliant to behold was one which could easily have earned a red card. Just hope he doesn’t see the red mist too often.

Janmaat was fortunate to not see red really it was a daft unnecessary challenge which we got used to seeing from Debuchy! We cant afford suspensions especially if they were to be self inflicted like this could have been! And stevie fistpimps will you give the miming the goalkeeper antics a rest man!

Yeah I think that whilst his team selections and motivational abilities are pitch-related reasons to be fucked off with Pardew, the shite he comes out in interviews makes people dislike him personally. He’s a slimeball, he thinks he’s class, and he has abandoned all integrity.

Gouffran is absolute gash, I’d play Sammy or Aarons ahead of him every single time, hopefully this is the start of him not being auto-selected.

I reckon our recent little run may actually prevent any real kind of investment in January. This could benefit us if we were to end up going down, which is the only way I can really see us getting rid of Ashley. Llambias on the board at Rangers now too, another club to get completely raped by this twat. What is the best we can hope for under Ashley? A failed cup run? Top 10 league finish? What’s the fucking point? I’d take relegation myself, though I realise a lot of people will disagree

Fickle would suggest we’d just changed our opinion in the few games pre Leicester. What the so called pundits seem to acknowledge is that the opinion on Pardew has probably been growing since the 5th place finish and certainly over the last 10 months or so. They conveniently forget the form from Christmas and, particularly, the Cardiff game when Pardew retreated to the dugout. My own opinion of the change in fortunes is that it got so bad, both in terms of performance/results and crowd reaction that he was forced to change tactics as there had been no sign for a long time that he would. So, for examples, injuries, playing Sissoko in his proper position and playing two up front (or at least closer support for the striker) resulted in better performances although it wasn’t great against Leicester or the first half against Spurs.

The thing with Janmaat’s challenge is that it came at the end of a series of dodgy Liverpool challenges that went unpunished. He probably thought F-this if they can get away with it so can I – except that the referee didn’t think likewise.

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